Did the Giants claim Alex Rios? Not likely

Vice president of baseball operations Bobby Evans just told me he can’t comment on waivers — that’s actually a league rule — but he hinted strongly that the Giants are not the unnamed team that, according to Buster Olney at the WWL, claimed Toronto outfielder Alex Rios.

Evans reminded me that waivers are assigned in reverse order of standings, starting with the league the player is in. Since the Giants have the third-best record in the other league, every other team in the majors except for the Dodgers and Phillies would have a crack at claiming Rios before the Giants could.

“Any player would have a hard time getting to us because of where we are in the standings,” Evans said.

So, read between the lines.

Lots of people are assuming it was the Giants because the Red Sox and Mets say it wasn’t them, and also because the Giants mulled a deal two winters ago to trade Tim Lincecum to Toronto for Rios. Also, because Rios is signed for another $60 million through 2013, only a handful of high-revenue teams (of which the Giants are one) could take on that contract.

If Rios has been claimed, the team that submitted the claim has to be prepared for the Blue Jays to say, “OK, he’s yours, contract and all.”

The Blue Jays have the option of phoning that team and saying, “We’ll pull him back, unless you want to make a deal for him.”